


Countless Crossroads (And The Middle Where I Stay)

by DefaltManifesto



Series: Becoming a Pack [15]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Starring Derek as Miguel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-30
Updated: 2013-07-30
Packaged: 2017-12-21 19:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/904274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefaltManifesto/pseuds/DefaltManifesto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny's new to this whole werewolf thing, so he figures he'll go to Stiles for advice, and naturally that leads to him spending the next full moon with the pack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Countless Crossroads (And The Middle Where I Stay)

**Author's Note:**

> Next up is a longer piece which will be centered around Isaac with some Isaac/Derek goodness. Hope you're all looking forward to it! Comments are loved as always. Title taken from Yellow Cat Slash Red Cat by Say Anything

The shrill sound of Stiles' phone piercing the air had Stiles rolling out of bed and face planting into the ground. It took him a moment t get himself functioning long enough to find the damn thing, frowning when he saw an unfamiliar number across the screen.

"Uh, hi?"

"Stiles. I'm coming over. I expect a warm breakfast waiting for me."

"Wait, who is this?"

"Danny."

"Danny-"

The phone clicked off. Stiles stared at his phone in confusion and then tossed it on the ground before picking his dirty clothes off the floor and throwing them back on. Danny could get over the smell if he was making breakfast.    

His dad was already gone for work. Stiles checked the freezer and pulled out some Eggos to pop into the toaster oven. It wasn't exactly like he had time to get any fancier, and Danny had never given him the time of day before so as far as Stiles was concerned, he could get over it. Which raised the other important question of how the hell Danny got his number in the first place.

The doorbell rang and Stiles went to answer while downing a glass of milk. When he opened the door, Danny was there with a backpack slung over his shoulders. He tilted his head to the side and then reached out to swipe a thumb over Stiles' upper lip to clean off the milk.

"Is that Eggo waffles I smell?" Danny licked the milk off his thumb as Stiles stared. "I didn't know you cared."

"Uh, uhm, of course I care Danny," Stiles said. "Come on in, I guess."

Danny pushed passed him and made a beeline for the kitchen. "So werewolves then."

Stiles slammed the door shut. "What?" He followed Danny, nearly tripping over himself on his way. "What do you mean?"

"Jackson told me," Danny said. He took a seat on the table as Stiles, still somewhat in a daze, got the Eggos out and brought them over with butter and syrup.

"Uh-huh. What exactly did he tell you?" Stiles asked, sliding into the seat across from him.

Danny dumped syrup all over his pancakes. "Just the basics really. That's why I'm here. I want to know more. Jackson said Scott was the first one bitten so I figured you'd be a good person to ask."

"You hate me," Stiles said. "And you could ask Lydia."

"One, I don't hate you," Danny said. "And two Lydia doesn't understand why I'm freaking out. She's too...adaptable." He shoved a forkful of food in his mouth.

"Sounds like Lydia," Stiles said. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Am I going to die?" Danny set his silverware down with a clatter, meeting Stiles' eyes.

"Well uh, that's a loaded question," Stiles said, leaning back. "I mean I almost died like three times this year, and that's conservatively."

"Great," Danny said.

"Well, you aren't pack yet. It's not like you're obligated to go risk your life or something. And we haven't had any real threats since the beginning of summer," Stiles said.

"Are _you_ pack?" Danny asked.

"Not technically. Derek still pretty much gets me to do what he wants because he's friggen' terrifying," Stiles said with an eye roll. "And the Argents said Derek can't recruit anymore teenagers so you're safe."

Danny's eyes were wide and he had stopped eating. "Who said I wanted to join?"

"Hey, I was just you know, letting you know in case," Stiles said, flailing his hands in a somewhat dismissive gesture.

"I like, you know, living," Danny said. "So I'll probably pass."

"Yeah, well so do I but Scott's my best friend," Stiles said with a slow shake of his head. "For awhile, I thought maybe I should distance myself but...I can't leave him to fight without me. And now there's Erica and Lydia and I guess Isaac and Boyd too that I have to worry about."

"Fight against what though?" Danny asked. "Jackson made it seem like there won't be anymore problems."

"Well, there was the Alpha pack. There's always hunters. Other werewolf packs, but Derek doesn't talk about that much, I've just been doing my own research," Stiles said. "I'd stay out of it as long as I could if I were you."

Danny ate a few more bites in silence, lost in thought, and for a while, Stiles let him. Then, when it seemed as though Danny had nothing left to say, Stiles spoke up.

"Look, helping or not helping is your call. I'm sure Jackson would understand. Sometimes, I stay out of it as much as I can to protect my dad," Stiles said.

"Does he know?"

"No." Stiles shook his head and looked down. "Which...is rough. It's pretty much butchered our relationship, because I have to lie all the time, and sometimes I show up beat up and just..." Stiles trailed off. "Sorry, you don't want to hear this."

"Sounds like you've needed to get it out though," Danny said. He offered a small smile. "It's also nice to know someone's freaking out as much as me about this."

"Yeah...you done?" Stiles asked, pointing at Danny's mostly empty plate.

"Oh, yeah." Danny shoved the plate towards him. "Look, I want to know as much about this as possible. Can I...stay and talk?"

"Sure," Stiles said. "I guess that means I should shower." He put the dishes in the sink and then headed for the stairs. "Make yourself comfortable wherever."

He kept the shower brief, and when he went to his room finally dressed in clean clothes, Danny was at his computer. Stiles threw his towel on his bed and pulled a chair up beside Danny.

"You know, that's password protected," Stiles said as Danny brought up Stiles' werewolf notes.

"Yeah, well you've read my criminal record, don't be surprised. I figured you would have something like this. Can I print it out?"

"Sure," Stiles said. He got to his feet and then flopped on top of his bed on his stomach so he could face Danny. "So what's on your mind, Danny-boy?"

Stiles' printer began to go off as Danny turned the chair to face him. "Don't call me Danny-boy. And I guess...the thing I'm most curious about is how...Jackson is suddenly okay with making out with guys."

"Oh. Well." Stiles shrugged. "I don't think it's a guy thing. I think it's a pack thing. They like scenting each other, and it blurs the lines a bit I guess. I mean, Boyd is pretty much completely straight, but I thought Scott was too."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "He's not?"

"Yeah we totally got each other off. Look Danny, no moving in on my best friend," Stiles said, pointing a stern finger at Danny.

"I'm just surprised you're finally admitting your bisexuality," Danny said with a cheeky grin.         

Stiles threw a pillow at him. "Yeah, whatever."

"How do they even manage?" Danny asked. "I mean, Jackson's got the maturity of a three-year-old when it comes to relationships."

"It's a pack thing. When you see them all together it makes sense," Stiles said. "They just...click. I don't know. I always thought I was a one partner for life kinda guy but the more caught up in all this I get, the more I think maybe not."

"This is weird," Danny said, grabbing the stack of paper that had finished printing. "This whole polyamorous thing. And Jackson and Isaac is just weird and the fact that you've all almost _died_ so many times and I just haven't even been paying enough attention."

"Whoa, whoa, Danny," Stiles said, sitting back up. "It's okay. I mean, we were trying to keep you out of it for a reason. It just means we were doing our job right."

"I just..." Danny shook his head. "Sorry. We seem to keep getting off topic."

"Nah it's alright," Stiles said. He gave a small smile. "Maybe we just need some human time, yeah? I mean, Lydia did for awhile there but she seems to have acclimated a lot better than me."

"Because of your dad, right? Tragedy of the kids who have good relationships with their parents," Danny said. "Not, belittling you or anything. Just uh, trying to make a joke but I shouldn't try. Sorry, this is all freaking me out quite a bit and I'm pretending it doesn't."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the feeling," Stiles said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed so his and Danny's knees were touching.

Danny looked a bit dazed when he looked up at him. "Stiles. Our best friends turn into werewolves."

Stiles nodded. "Indeed they do Danny."

"Werewolves."

"Yes."

"And Allison's family tries to hunt them."

"Used to. They have treaties now, it's all fine," Stiles said.

"But what about later? They're always going to be in danger, aren't they?" Danny asked.

"Probably. I mean we all are," Stiles said. "But I mean...we're gonna be fine. Probably. We've always managed to get out of all the crap before. I'm sure we'll manage."

"I just..." Danny put his head in his hands. "It's not even the werewolf part. It's that they've all been shot and almost killed and well, I _know_ Jackson's killed someone but-"

"That wasn't his fault, as much as it pains me to admit that," Stiles said. "It's all terrifying like 90% of the time."

Danny looked up. "What is it the other 10%?"

"Pack cuddles and movie night," Stiles said. "Next full moon is tomorrow. You should ask Jackson if you can come to the after party?"

"Is that safe?"

Stiles shrugged. "I've only ever been with Erica and Scott after. Scott's pretty much in full control, Erica just tries to get wasted. I don't know about the others."

"Well. I guess...it couldn't hurt."

"That's the attitude Danny-boy!"

"Stop calling me that."

 

-.-

 

"Wait, so what do we do?"

"Chill." Stiles sat down on the couch in the living room of the Hale house, propping his feet up on the table. "They'll be out for awhile. My first you know, actual full moon with them was an accident."

"That sounds like it could end horribly," Danny said.

Stiles wedged a bowl of popcorn in between them and turned the TV on. "Nah. Erica is surprisingly not violent after the full moon."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Is Lydia usually here for these?"

"I know she usually brings food in the morning," Stiles said. "What do you wanna watch?"

"I don't care. Anything to get my mind off the fact that our friends are running around the woods howling at the moon," Danny said. He shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth before he said anything else unintentionally. Stiles was already rubbing off on him.

"Gravity Falls it is then."

"Gravity what?"        

"I swear the writer's are on crack when they write, it's great."

After four hours of watching it, Danny had to agree. Hanging out with Stiles wasn't nearly as awkward as he thought it would be either. He had always thought Stiles was too spastic to enjoy his company, but when Danny actually _listened_ to what he had to say, it wasn't so bad.

"And that was when Allison's dad threatened to cut Scott in half," Stiles said. "Which I have now officially learned my lesson to not trip tripwires."

"Congrats," Danny said. "But I would've just not tripped it the first time."

"Yeah well, that's why your life is so boring," Stiles said, setting the empty popcorn bowl aside. "My life is never ending excitement, and while you're sitting in your room all safe, I am...well generally I'm fighting but I mean..."

Danny snorted. "Right, well I don't like being cut in half so-"

"Hey, you're not a werewolf, death by hemicorporectomy is not in your future," Stiles said.

"Hm, what a comfort," Danny said.

Stiles hit the mute button and shifted to face him head on. "Do you regret you know, having Jackson get you all tangled up in this?"

Danny looked down at his lap. "A little bit. I don't like the idea that my life got more dangerous but it's nice to have my best friend back..."

"Well, it's like Scott said. We can always back out," Stiles said.

Danny shook his head and looked over at him. "You say that, but you're just lying to me and yourself. We're both too loyal to just fuck off and let them fend for themselves."

"Yeah." There was an odd look in Stiles' eyes, but he was turning away before Danny could really get a good look. "You know, I almost did leave Scott all on his own. It was the end of the year and I...got the shit kicked out of me by Allison's grandpa, which don't laugh, that guy can pack a punch."

Despite the joke, Danny could hear the vulnerable note in Stiles' voice, and after a moment of hesitation, he reached a hand out to rub Stiles' arm.

"But yeah after that I...my dad freaked out. I mean I lied and told him it was just some stupid kids but after that I just didn't want to help Scott anymore. I couldn't risk myself and my dad and it's just, they can all get smacked around and they heal right up but I don't," Stiles said. He looked up at Danny, rubbing the back of his neck. "I ended up trying to help anyways, which I guess it's good that I did but yeah, you're right. Once we're in, we're a bit stuck."

"I'm sure Scott appreciates it," Danny said. He angled himself to face Stiles better and grabbed both of his hands. "But I'm all for doing what we can without putting ourselves in harm's way if you are."

Stiles grinned and laughed, and it made Danny's chest warm to know that he was the one that erased the sadness from his face. "There is a bit we can do to help other than risking our necks you know."

"Yeah, like what?" Danny asked. He tugged Stiles forward, smirking a bit at Stiles' shocked expression before situating them so that Stiles was leaning back on Danny's chest.

It was a bit impulsive, but something about Stiles' honesty made him want to make him feel safe and the way that made the most sense was to just wrap him up as close as possible. Stiles went quiet as he settled in, his hair still somewhere between a buzz and just short tickling Danny's jaw.

"Like uh..." Stiles shrugged. "Looking up other supernatural creatures. I check with Derek every once and awhile to see which ones are real and not. Then I try and figure out how to fight against them. It's mostly because I've been bored all summer."

"Your lives are so weird," Danny said with a shake of his head.

"Hey man, it's your life now too," Stiles said. He grabbed one of Danny's hands and began to fiddle with his fingers, the action making Danny smile. "You can help if you want. Some of the stuff I find is just downright funny."

"Yeah?"

"Hell yeah, like okay, so apparently these things called harpies..."

Danny zoned out a bit as Stiles talked, his mouth never stopping as he relayed factoids, and myths, talking about what he knew was true and what he still wasn't sure about. It was entertaining, listening to Stiles talk and make a joke about it, and helped ease Danny's mind about the fact that harpies and werewolves and gargoyles were all real.

The door slammed open, startling them both. Stiles jolted upright and was on his feet by the time Scott walked in. Danny couldn't help but stare at McCall's bright, orange eyes, his skin flushed, and his shirt long forgotten. Danny could appreciate a nice chest and set of abs, especially since Scott wasn't looking at him at all.

"Hey, so Erica is fine. You don't have to be here if you don't want," Scott said. "But it'd be cool if you stayed."

Danny's eyebrows raised when he saw a flush creeping up the back of Stiles' neck.

"Yeah sure, I'll stay. Danny you gonna be able to fend for yourself?" Stiles asked, half turning towards him.

"Uh, probably, maybe?" Danny said.

Scott's eyes finally flickered over to him. "Oh, sorry Danny, my mind's racing a bit, forgot about you for a second. Jackson's not really in a good mood so uh, be nice? Try not to make him feel too weird, I guess."

"He's a werewolf, I'm not sure how much more weird I could make it," Danny said. "Now can you two please leave, I can like, feel your sexual tension."

Stiles shot him a half-hearted glare over his shoulder. "We are just going to cuddle, oh my God Danny. Mind out of the gutter."

"I mean if you wanna throw in a quick-" Scott began, breaking off into a laugh when Stiles flailed and shoved both of his hands over Scott's mouth. The werewolf easily broke Stiles' hold and smiled widely at Danny. "I just like cuddling on the full moon, I swear."

"McCall, I don't care," Danny said, reclining back on the couch.

Scott flashed him another smile and tugged Stiles up the stairs. Danny didn't have long to feel out of his element, because the front door slammed open again and Isaac strode through. His button up t-shirt was open, pale chest flushed. Their eyes met and Danny shifted a bit when Isaac took a step towards him, something heated and confident and downright _sexy_ in his eyes. Danny liked confident men.

"Jackson said you'd be here tonight," Isaac said, leaning against the archway between the entryway and living room. "Nice to see you. Should help Jackson settle in. Rough-"

"-Night. That's what Scott said," Danny said. "What does that even mean?"

"Generally, we use the full moon to bond and burn off energy because we actually can control ourselves now. The full moon makes it harder to control ourselves but with Derek's help we've been able to you know, burn it off without killing anything," Isaac said. "Jackson's...not so good at that."

"Control?"

"Oh he's got amazing restraint. That's the problem," he said. "But yeah, you're safe, just regular old monsters."

The door opened again, and Danny caught a flash of Erica and Boyd racing up the steps, and then Miguel of all people showed up behind Isaac. His broad hands splayed over Isaac's hips, and Danny's eyes zeroed in on the way his thumbs smoothed over where pale skin met the cloth of shorts. Then he looked up to meet Miguel's gaze.

"So uh...Miguel, isn't it?"

A flash of recognition, and then a scowl moved across the man's face. "Stiles!"

Isaac snorted. "Miguel?"

"Long story," the man said. "I'm Derek. Not Miguel. Stiles is just an idiot. I'll see you in the morning."

Miguel, or rather Derek, pulled Isaac from the room, leaving Danny a bit confused and a tad more turned on then he thought he would be. He wasn't aware the full moon involved so much sexual tension between hot men. Jackson had definitely been holding out on him. His thought process turned serious though when Jackson walked in, tense and hunched in on himself.

Danny straightened as Jackson sat down beside him. "You uh, okay?"

"Obviously not," Jackson said, refusing to look over at him.

"What...do you need me to do?" Danny asked. "I..."

"Anything to make it so I don't feel like I'm about to crawl out of my skin," Jackson said.

When he looked up at Danny, there was panic and fear and a little bit of loneliness swimming in his eyes. Danny thought for a moment, then got to his feet and shoved Jackson down onto the couch on his stomach.

"Well, first I suppose I can work this tension out of you," Danny said. It took a bit of maneuvering, but eventually he was able to straddle Jackson's thighs without falling off the couch. Jackson groaned when Danny's thumbs sunk into the knots in his back, but Danny didn't let up even a little bit. "Where is Lydia? Stiles said he doesn't know if she comes to these."

"Sometimes she does," Jackson said, voice a bit muffled by the cushions. "She's in Seattle with her dad this week though."

Danny winced. "That can't be fun."

"If the texts are anything to go by," Jackson said.

Danny continued his work in silence for a while, working out the tension in Jackson's shoulders as he debated whether or not talking would actually be beneficial. Jackson was different, now, like if Danny pushed even a little bit, all the fears and anxieties would come rushing out in one go.

"Isaac said the full moon is supposed to let yourselves go and work out all of your energy or whatever while staying in enough control to not like, destroy anything. But you won't loosen up enough to do that, will you?"

Jackson tensed beneath him but Danny kept up his steadying pressure to make him go slack again. "I can't Danny." His voice was trembling a bit and it made Danny's heart ache. "I'll hurt someone if I do."

"Letting it build up like this will make it worse," Danny said. He straightened and got up before crouching on the floor so he was at eye level with Jackson. "I mean I'm no werewolf expert, but it's just common sense if you hold it down too long, the explosion will just be worse."

Jackson turned to shove his face into the cushions. "Yeah, I know but I can't."

Danny could barely understand him. "You spend the full moon with a pack of werewolves, Jackson. Don't you think they'll be able to get you under control if you went a bit crazy?"

Jackson's sigh was loud in the mostly silent room as he pushed himself upright. His eyes were scared and hurt and Danny shoved himself between Jackson's knees before cupping his face with his hands.

"Jackson, talk to me."

"If I lose control, I-" Jackson choked on his words, shaking his head a bit. "Then I'm messing up, I'm not the best and I can't do that again. I can't feel like that again Danny!"

Jackson crumpled forward into Danny's arms, shaking and crying. Danny wasn't used to Jackson crying because even when he got upset, usually he just shook and raged internally, but despite all that, Danny found he actually knew what to say. It all came down to the same thing in the end with Jackson.

"You don't have to be perfect Jackson," Danny said. "I know you don't believe me but it's true. Just because you..." Danny rested his cheek against the top of Jackson's bowed head. "Just because you can't see them or hear them doesn't mean your parents aren't proud of you."

He understood Jackson, knew just what caused all of his problems. It was hard to go through life after all, not hearing praise from the two people you needed it from the most, two people you could _never_ hear it from.

"You can't know that," Jackson finally managed to choke out against his neck.

"Well they'd have to be pretty damn stupid if they weren't proud of you. You've accomplished a lot, Jackson. You don't have to beat yourself up for not being perfect," Danny said, voice quiet as he ran a hand down Jackson's back.

Jackson didn't say another word, only clinging to Danny as his tears slowly ran out. Danny didn't even think of moving, or at least not until his back began to cramp from the uncomfortable position. When he could no longer stand it, Danny shifted back onto the couch and let Jackson rest his head on his lap. His fingers absentmindedly stroked through Jackson's hair until his breath evened out and he fell asleep.

For a while longer, Danny stayed awake. He didn't know how to fix his best friend, not really. He didn't even know where to begin to fill the gaping hole in Jackson's chest.

 

-.-

 

The next morning, Danny's neck and back ached from a night sleeping while sitting up. He was distracted from the pain, though, when he realized Jackson's arms had curled around one of his legs. The guy was such a cuddler, sometimes even more than Danny was. For a few more minutes, he ran his fingers through Jackson's hair, but then Danny began to move his leg to wake the werewolf up.

"C'mon sleepy head. I gotta crack my back," Danny said.

"Comfy," Jackson mumbled back.

"Oh my-"

"Jackson, let him go."

Danny jerked when he realized Isaac was behind him. Isaac moved around the couch, tugging Jackson away long enough for Danny to escape before taking Danny's place as the human pillow.

Danny twisted and cracked his back and when he looked back, Isaac was looking at him, a contented smile on his face. He looked a lot better since the last time Danny had seen him for longer than five minutes, back near the start of the summer. More alert, more relaxed; happier.

"So you survived your first full moon," Isaac said.

"Seems like you don't really need me though," Danny said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Well of course I don't. I barely know you," Isaac said. "But Jackson does. You can't be a part of the pack formally, no, but you're Jackson's friend. You don't have to have a...use to hang out with us."

Danny flushed and ducked his head. "Guess I wear my insecurities on my sleeve a bit, don't I?"

"A bit yeah," Isaac said with a grin. "If you want you can go shower. Derek's clothes should fit you, and I put some out on the counter."

"Derek?" Danny's flush deepened. "The guy I uh, thought was Miguel, right?"

Isaac's grin widened and grew mischievous. "Right. You should tell me that story when you get back."

Danny smiled back. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that."


End file.
